>> a michigan health care worker who had had enough, caught in a protest designed to stop traffic. that is our broadcast for this wednesday night. please stay well. take care of each other out there. on behalf of all of my colleagues at the networks of nbc news, good night from our temporary field headquarters. good morning, everybody. it is thursday, april 16th. i'm yasmin vossoughian. we have a lot to cover this morning. amid the global pandemic and record unemployment, the president is now threatening to shut down congress. he wants to use recess appointments to get his stalled nominees into senior positions and on the federal bench without senate approval. the constitution allows a president to adjourn congress if house and senate leaders cannot agree on whether to adjourn. but that is not the case here. and no, the president has ever used this power.

>> we have a tremendous number of people that have to come into government. and now more so than ever before because of the virus and the problem. we have to do it. and we have to do whatever we have to do. >> earlier last month, you were in the oval office talking about now is not the time for partisanship. how will that act lower the partisanship in this town and could it potentially hinder the ability to get something done on coronavirus? >> well, it is -- look, it's been a very partisan government for a long period of time, not just this administration. you can go back into the last two administrations. you've seen a lot of partisanship. but i have a very strong power. i'd rather not use that power. but we have way over a hundred people that we badly need in this administration that should have been approved a long time ago and one of them is the head of voice of america. if you look at what they're doing, and what they're saying about our country, it's a disgrace. the people that are running

that. we have somebody that's really good, really talented, and that loves our country. and i want to get these people approved for that at least. >> if congress doesn't act by when -- >> they've been warned and they have been warned right now. if they don't approve it, we're going to go this route. we'll probably be challenged in court and we'll see who wins. >> and mitch mcconnell's office said the majority leader had a conservation -- a conversation, excuse me, with the president yesterday to, quote, discuss senate democrats unprecedented obstruction of the president's well qualified nominees and shared his continued frustration with the process. the leader pledged to find ways to confirm nominees considered mission critical to the covid-19 pandemic. here is the key line in the statement, though. quote, this, but under senate rules, that will take consent from leader schumer. also, begging in financial executives are reportedly pushing the trump administration

to dramatically increase coronavirus testing availability before opening up the u.s. economy. according to the "wall street journal," the push came during a series of phone calls yesterday between the president and executives on his newly formed task force to reopen the economy. during yesterday's white house briefing, the president seemed to down play the issue. >> on a call with business leaders today, they said testing has got to be ramped up significantly before the country -- before they feel comfortable reopening their stores and restaurants and what not. isn't that what health officials and state governors -- >> that's what i want, too. we have great tests and we want the states to administer these tests for the most part. we've done more testing now than any country in the world, by far. we have at the best tests in the world and we will be working very much with the governors of the states. we want them to do it. we're not going to be run ago parking lot in arkansas. we're going to work closely with the governors in terms of that,

getting additional equipment. it used to be three, four weeks ago, two weeks ago, can we get more ventilators, more ventilators, right? we got them vent laters and you don't hear that any more. it's been pretty amazing what we've been able to do. >> meanwhile, we're learning new details about the white house's apparent scramble to put together that new advisory group for restarting the u.s. economy. the vast majority of those on the list, while happy to participate, were not informed that they would be named by the president and not told in advance what their roles might actually be. according to "the washington post," some of the groups heard their names for the first time during the president's rose garden event on tuesday. one prominent washington lobbyist for a leading global organization told the post this, we got a note about a conference call like you would get invitesed to a zoom thing, a few lines in an email and that was it. then our ceo heard his name in the rose garden. what the -- and then an

expletive there. that lobbyist went on to say this. my company is furious. how do you go from join us on a call to, well, you're on the team. joining me now, u.s. economy managing editor for bloomberg peggy collins for us. peggy, good morning to you. thanks so much for joining us this morning. you have top wall street leaders urging the president to ramp up covid-19 testing before reopening the economy. sounds like a pretty darn good idea to me. what are you hearing about that? >> well, we're certainly hearing people are turning towards a reopening of the economy and how do we do that. certainly testing is one of the key factors there in terms of which businesses do you turn back on and how many people do you bring back on? we've had essential workers deemed across the economy, health care workers, of course, others, but this would be an expansion of that and testing, widespread testing that where the results can come in quickly is one of the ways that people

are saying that could help us get the economy off the ground. but people also have to feel comfortable about their own health going back to work, as well. >> let's talk more about this newly formed economic task force, as i was just reading as we led into you not necessarily people were informed that they were going the be on this task force. i want to know what you're hearing about that. and what can we actually expect regarding plans to tackle the extreme economic damage we've experienced in the last five or six weeks? >> well, the president has had task forces in the past. so in terms of getting the economy up and running, gathering and he tease a gathering expertise could hurt in terms of getting people off the ground. but we are hearing that what the markets are looking for are signs of any real reopening and recovery. so we're waiting for jobless claims to come out at 8:30

today. retail sales came out yesterday and were a record 8% down. so we're still seeing most of the damage reports coming through as opposed to positive signs that the economy is getting restarted. >> all right. peggy collins for us, thank you. stay close, peggy. i'm going to talk to you again in just a little bit. so german chancellor angela merkel announced that the country will slowly ease restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus. the currents measures will stay in place until may 3rd, but next week shops under a certain size could reopen and schools will gradually begin to reopen by may 4th. but large public gatherings, such as religious services, will continue to be banned until august 31st. bars, restaurants, cafes, and movie theaters will also remained closed. germany's announcement is coming after several european nations have relaxed some restrictions on social distancing. italy reopened bookstores and children's clothing stores. denmark has reopened schools and

nurseries for children up to the age of 11. and in spain, construction and manufacturing continues as some nonessential employees return to work earlier this week. let's get into this a bit. joining me now from london, nbc news correspondent cal perry for us. good morning to you. great to see you, my friend. want to start in the uk here. according to the office of national statistics, the uk's death toll could feasibly exceed estimates that have been previously published. how is the government reacting to some of these latest numbers as we continue to see the death toll just go up-and-up in the uk? >> yeah, not well. there's really this atmosphere going on television. we saw it this morning with the health secretary and the media that is really pretty nasty. and it has to do not only with the opening up of the country, but also with the statistics that we're talking about.

and what we're really talking about is elderly care homes. there are some 15,000 elderly care homes in england. and it appears as though we're not seeing the inclusion of those who have died in elderly care homes in the daily death toll. unfortunately, all we're doing is we're hearing from individual companies. one company in particular this morning came out and said in their 350 homes, they had 311 deaths. now, we know that that is not being included in that daily death toll. it is possible that we could see some one-quarter more deaths here in the uk because of underreporting from these care homes. the other thing that is being underreported is deaths due to holidays. we just had the easter holiday here. and i think it's quite possible in the next dairts we're going to see a sizable spike in the death toll in the uk due to undercounting. this all originated in the last 24 hours from a letter that was leaked from the department of health and social care, which talked not only about those who are dieing and not being counted, but also this issue of ppe and the ppe just not making

it to these elderly care homes where, of course, the nurses need it frankly just as bad as they would in hospitals, yasmin. >> cal, let's touch on germany for a moment beginning to soften some of the restrictions, opening up schools in the beginning of may. and then hearing about the testing that they're able to pull off in germany, astounding, 100,000 tests a day. any idea how they were able to pull that off? >> well, they have an epidemiology system there that is top notch, that is the best in the world. and they were prepared for this. their testing system was up and running really by the end of january. it is where the united kingdom has failed. it is frankly where many people believe that the united states has failed. the united kingdom wants to get to exactly where germany is. and they used that number, 100,000 tests every day. unfortunately, the united kingdom on its best day is doing about 16,000 testing. this is what is going to prevent things from opening up. the uk today is going to announce that we will stay in

lockdown for at least another three weeks. there are people who, of course, are pushing for things to open up, small businesses, even some large businesses. kfc wants to open up around the country and it will be unable to do so. and when you sort of look at the differences between what is happening in hospitals, for example, and what is happening at the airport, people can still travel in and out of heathrow airport in london without any testing. which makes no sense. this is what is going to prevent people from getting back to life. >> testing, testing, testing, that will be the key to reopening the economy i think in a lot of places right now. nbc's cal perry for us, still ahead, everybody, the airline industry is facing a record drop in travel due to the coronavirus outbreak. now several carriers are facing lawsuits. legal analyst danny sa sa volumus is here to weigh in on that. now the governor is helping other out states in need as he

had promised. those stories plus a check on your weather when we come back. your weather when we come back

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welcome back, everybody. a minnesota police officer is suing united airlines for only offering vouchers instead of a refund for a family vacation canceled due to the coronavirus. in a potential class action lawsuit, jacob rudolph requested a refund of the more than $1500 spent on a flight to hilton head that was grounded because of covid-19. a federal suit filed in pennsylvania against southwest on monday seeks class action status for similar passengers left holding vouchers. the illinois suit stresses the need for monetary refunds over travel vouchers is pressing now. travel vouchers provide little

security in the public crisis particularly where many individual americans need money for food and basics. danny cevallos, it's always great to see you in the mornings here. >> i miss you and ayman both. >> well, ayman is not here. so you just got me this morning. let's talk about this suit here, danny, because it seems pretty straightforward to me. i mean, you have a trip essentially canceled because of something that is completely out of your control. the spread of this pandemic, the customer wants their money back. they don't want to necessarily be stuck with these vouchers because they need to essentially pay their bills. how can the airlines argue that they're allowed to keep the passengers' money? >> so far, the airlines appear to be invoking the legal principle of, oops, our bad. but i expect when they actually defend this case, they're going to say at least in the first instance, we were allowed to offer vouchers. and then if push comes to shove,

then we might have given refunds. but the complaints essentially allege that whatever the terms of the contracts are between passengers and airlines, and let's be honest, the passenger has no part in writing the contract. but even those contracts had to yield to the department of transportation's directive that during this time of pandemic, you airlines have to give refunds to your customers. but they haven't formally appeared to defend the case, so the airlines are going to have to come up with some defenses pretty quickly. >> so tell us about this potential of a class action status. how is exactly that going to work and how are other voucher holders, if they want, going to get in on this? >> class actions are an interesting thing in our legal system. they allow large numbers of plaintiffs, as long as they have somewhat similar claims, to proceed as a giant group. and there are two kinds, really,

of class actions. there's the opt out and opt in. the default -- is that you're automatically in unless you want out of the class. and everybody has gotten those postcards in the mail saying that, surprise, you are a member of a class. there are other class actions that are called opt in where the default rule is you have to ask to get into the class. there are different strategic reasons for wanting one over the other. but at this point in litigation, both the complaints i reviewed are keeping all options open. strategically, i'm guessing they're going to want the default rule to be we want everybody in unless they affirmatively want out because you're dealing with mostly ticket prices which are relatively small damages here and you're going to want a class to be as big as possible if you're the plaintiffs' attorneys. >> all right, danny cevallos, thank you, as always. still ahead, michigan has one of the highest coronavirus death rates in the country. but protesters were seen hitting

the streets this week because of stay at home orders. that story and much more, coming up. orders. that story and much more, coming up isn't just a department. it's a voice on the other end of the phone. a note to say you're on our mind. a willingness to come to you. the world and how we interact with each other is changing. but that will never change who we are at lexus. now, more than ever, you and your needs come first. find out what service options are available in your area at lexus.com/people first it won't wait for fina convenient time. options are available or for hospitals to get back to normal again. that's why, at cancer treatment centers of america, we aren't waiting. we're right here, still focused on the only thing we do, providing world-class cancer care, all under one roof. because cancer isn't just what we do, it's all we do.

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good morning mrs. johnson. benefiber. trust your gut. welcome back, everybody. thousands of demonstrators drove to the state capital in lansing, michigan, yesterday to fight the stay at home order. the protest, otherwise known aspiration gridlock, was organized by the american commission federation and american freedom fund. drivers honked their horns while demonstrators chanted open up michigan followed by a lock her up chant in reference to their governor. and in kentucky, about a hundred people protested the stay at

home orders, as well. bill, i know that you've been tracking this curve for us and it appears here in new york the curve is certainly flattening, which is great news. the numbers of deaths, though, continuing to tick up throughout the country amid the good news that we're seeing with the curve. >> yeah. and yesterday was a frustrating day, yasmin, there is no way around it. we hit the plateau about a week ago and we've been waiting to come down a little bit. we took a couple of steps down over the holiday weekend. it was looking pretty good. and then we had a blip up. if you notice that red in the upper right, we had another jump up in x-rayss. yesterday was frustrating because the numbers went up compared to what we dealt with on tuesday and then on a wednesday. as far as the actual numbers go, the curve, you can see the blue line.

it's not shooting up like it was, but we still had 30,000 new cases yesterday. and if you do the math, we know that 5% of the people that get covid-19 end up in -- they die. so that would be another -- every time we get 30,000 new cases, that's another 1,500 americans that we're going to lose from this virus. so as far as numbers went yesterday, i think the one that really jumped out was new jersey went down, but new york had a huge number with 11,000 new cases. so, you know, again, we're still struggling with that. as far as weather, snow is falling in central colorado, accumulating heavy snow in places like iowa, illinois, and even into indiana. yeah, not exactly spring conditions yet. >> all right. thank you, bill. still ahead, president trump says data suggests the u.s. has passed its peak of coronavirus cases and now he's ready to

issue guidelines for reopening the economy. what we're hearing about that, plus jobless claims are expected to surge again this morning with the release of the new economic data. we're going to take a look at where the market stands ahead of that. we are back in a moment. re back. ♪ it's only human to find inspiration in nature. and also find answers.

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announcing another 752 deaths just yesterday, the state's vast need for ventilators has subsided and it will now disperse 150 of the life saving machines across the country. >> new yorkers are generous and they are grateful and gracious and when you need help, we will be there for you. and we will be. the state of michigan is going through an issue right now. the state of maryland is going through an issue. we're stabilized. we're going to send 100 ventilators to michigan and 50 to the state of maryland. >> so in an effort to continue to -- the state's stabilization rates, governor cuomo issued an executive order requiring that all residents wear masks in public. starting tomorrow. also, the president today is expected to issue guidelines to governors on how to reopen the economy. suggesting yesterday that some states might open before his may 1st deadline. >> all of american society is

engaged and mobilized in the war against the invisible enemy. while we must remain vigilant, it is clear that our aggressive strategy is working. the battle continues, but the data suggests that nationwide we have passed the peak on new cases. these encouraging developments have put us in a very strong position to finalize guidelines for states on reopening the country. we'll also be speaking to america's governors tomorrow and then we'll be announcing exactly what is happening. you already know we'll be opening up states, some states much sooner than others. and we think some of the states can actually open up before the deadline of may 1st. and i think that that will be a very exciting time, indeed. >> so during an interview on fox news last night, republican senator john kennedy of hard-hit louisiana said states should reopen despite acknowledging that it would accelerate the spread of the virus.

>> very, very soon, the can is going to run out of road. we have to open this economy. if we don't, it's going on collapse. and if the u.s. economy collapses, the world economy collapses. and trying to burn down the village to save it is foolish. yes, we shut down. but the shutdown did not stop the spread of the virus. the shutdown slowed the spread of the virus. at enormous cost. but it's still spread. when we end the shutdown, the virus is going to spread faster. that's just a fact. and the american people understand that. >> of course, the idea of the shutdown is it will slow the spread of the virus and then eventually stop the spread of the virus. joining me once again, peggy collins, managing ed for for

bloomberg. great to see you again. talk to me about some of your thoughts on the push by some republican senators to quickly reopen parts of the economy. >> well, i think the numbers in terms of the economic damage that have been out there and we're expecting more today with jobless claims have been staggering for people. but at the same time, i think the american public has also been absorbing the information that they've been getting from health experts that in terms of the stay at home orders and people staying at home has actually stemmed the spread of the virus, which is going to be essentially what not only reopens the economy, but keeps it open. >> so we know that the president is expected to reveal new coronavirus guidelines and what should we expect with regard to opening up the economy and what type of recovery we're going to have on the economic front.

what are you hearing with regard to what the president will be presenting later today? >> so we're expecting, as you said, an announcement later today that could indicate certain states are opening up more in may potentially or in coming weeks. you know, there is expected to be some debate around this depending on different states and where different governors feel their communities are. and so we'll have to wait and see. but also remember, you've got a lot of private businesses and companies across the u.s. who will be making their own decisions, not only based on the virus, but in terms of how many workers they can get back quick quickly as well as their supply chains. there are a lot of factors involved in getting the economy up and going again.

so the president reportedly decided to halt funding for the world health organized as we well know at this point, but at the urging of prominent advisers. the president's decision to pause nearly 500 million in public funding for the world health organization has garnered pushback from congressional democrats who say the president does not have the authority to unilaterally stop paying the world health organization. willem, talk to us about the united states pausing funds for the world health organization. >> the funds are split into two buckets, essentially. every two years, the u.s. has to contribute money. that is almost 900 million u.s. dollars. a lot of that money is something

the u.s. is meant to pay. that comes among specific disease radfication programs that the u.s. continues to be a priority. the u.s. has been interruptal in pushing these efforts around the world and if you look at the funding contributing to the global effort, the u.s. is about a third of that amount. that will be significant when it comes to their ability in countries like pakistan, afghanistan. where that virus is still alive in the wild, that is where they have these uj vaccination programs and those are the ones that will potentially suffer the most. children in those countries could see a reemergence of polio and all the debilltations that

come with us. >> talk to us about what has been america's role in responding to global pandemics and what are global health officials saying now about america's covid-19 response? >> what we've heard from the director is that the u.s. did some things right and some things wrong but in terms of the u.s. role, it's been key. for polio, they've contributed more than $3 billion over the past three or four decades in that effort. and i asked him about how important the cdc is responding to things like polio and

covid-19. >> the premier cdc is a core partner in this. it brings the scientific excellence. even the work i'm describing to you now of surveillance, they are extensively supported by cdc. cdc epidemiologists are working shoulder to shoulder with us. >> and what that means, he says, is that if this funding is halted, the data centers that give america an early warning signal, that could be put at risk. and that is he and other experts say could be significant down the road for u.s. health. >> great reporting this morning. thank you, as always, great to see you. still ahead, while new u.s. cases of the coronavirus appear to be reaching a peak, the illness continues to claim the lives of america's most vulnerable. your first look at "morning joe"

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welcome back, everybody. coronavirus continues to claim more victims inside nursing homes across the country. nbc news is reporting that so far more than 5500 people have died. one new jersey facility has been especially stretched beyond capacity by dieing residents. police received an anonymous tip on monday that a body had been stored in a shed outside of a rehabilitation center in andover. by the time they arrived, police found 17 bodies piled inside the small morgue intended to hold no more than four people. of those who died, 26 people had tested positive for the virus. with that, let's go to nbc meteorologist bill karins once again who always tracks the weather for us, but also

tracking that curve. and just devastating, bill, to hear that story and to hear that that is the way someone's life ends after living such a long life, to be bodies piled into essentially a storage facility awaiting for someone to come pick them up. >> and all these stories you hear from all these nurses that are, you know, facetime, the families, just trying to let the people as their loved one is dieing, it's incredible. and, you know, i don't know how they do it. so let's get into what happened yesterday. we knew that the peak, we're hoping, for the fatality, the daily, is going to be either this week or next week. because it lags the apex of what we had where the new cases by about one or two weeks. yesterday, we had 2,500 cases reported around the country. we're rapidly going up this portion of the curve. yesterday, one of the numbers that really jumped out at me coming in at number three was the state of connecticut. connecticut, after nearly a

small state in population compared to most, almost 200 fatalities reported yesterday in connecticut. now they're up to 868. a lot of the other ones have been on this top six list for a while. louisiana jumped back on this list. and massachusetts yesterday went over 1,000 fatalities total. so, yeah, just the numbers are staggering. let's jump to the weather forecast. i know a lot of people will be hoping to get outside and enjoy some spring weather. it's nasty. it was not nice yesterday in the great lakes. right now, we're in the 20s and 30s in many areas of chicago to detroit. and unfortunately, we have snow coming for many people. it's snowing today in areas of colorado. it's going to snow tonight in areas of missouri. we'll have snow moving in chicago, detroit you're going to get a couple of inches of snow. eventually on friday into friday night, some of this will move into new england. so your weekend forecast, rain and wet snow. ohio valley sliding into the northeast, late friday, early saturday morning that exit tess northeast. another thing we don't want to

deal with is another severe weather outbreak. sunday we may be dealing with that, more tornados after what that region is still cleaning up for what they dealt with. >> that is the last thing they need. not fun. still ahead, david kerr is going to join us with a preview of the latest unemployment numbers due out this morning. as we go to break, a look at some good being done of high sc created a telephone hot line offering prerecorded messages of positivity to help those struggling in violation. according to its website, the joy for all project. that's what it's called. they're seeking recorded submissions from those who want to lend a hand, including stories, jokes, kind messages, letters, poetry and music. we're back in a moment. 're backt

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welcome back. in the last three weeks, 17 million americans applied for unemployment claims and the numbers are only expected to

continue their rise. some economists are expecting around another 5 million unemployment claims may have been added last week. now there are projections that the unemployment rate could be anywhere from 10 to 15% unofficially. wow. those are huge numbers. joining me now, gafd gerr for us. it is so great to see you, my friend. talk to us about what we can expect here out of the labor department this morning. >> as you said, good to see you, as well. these are huge numbers and these will be huge numbers discreetly. if we got a one-week reading in seven digits, that would be a huge thing. but now we have this series which is likely to be four weeks of jobless claims taking this partnership tuesday rise. that is startling new for economists and for americans, as well, as they look at the economy and the labor market within it. we're expect ago read today from the labor department that shows 5 million people applied for these benefits for the first

time. that is giving us data that backs up what we've heard from family and friends who have been furloughed that lost their jobs. but the situation is pretty dire here. you mentioned that unemployment rate. economists i was talking to yesterday said we're going to get a real read on that in a couple of weeks. but when you get numbers like these in the quantity that we've gotten them, it indicates how bad the labor market is. there is a real sense of d desperation. it's hard to forecast ahead when you're looking at numbers the size of which you haven't seen in data in your lifetime before. so this is really unchartered territory for a lot of folks here. >> so give us a sense as to what they're forecasting if, in fact, they can, about a bounceback. can we bounce back? when could we feasibly bounce back and will there be even an industry for many of these

people that are now unemployed to go back to. >> it's a great question. and the president talks so much about turning the economy back on and that's easier said than done can. it's not like flipping a switch here. if there is no historical they to. yes, they can grab things from the great recession or great depression. that gives some information. this is really a new thing, to see the economy shocked as immediately as this economy has been. there has been policy response, and many folks think it has been effectively deployed. so much has been targeted on preserving the connection between employers and employees that they let go. with the hope, as they articulate, when things improve, they'll be able to rehire those workers. what is confounding about that, yasmin, is that takes time. hiring workers and re-hiring workers takes time, and we don't have a lot of time when it comes to the support systems put in place. the longer this takes, the more that connection is going to fray between those employers and past

employees. so the data will continue to accumulate. there was a projection, suggestion early on here that there would be a surge at the beginning of this. once we saw these lockdown measures put in place, saw the small businesses close, there was going to be a surge in applications at the beginning. what we've seen here is there's been a surge, but it keeps continuing week after week after week. the c.a.r.e.s. act, the legislation the congress passed, that made it possible for more americans to apply for unemployment. contract workers, as well, is added to the backlog here. what's astonishing, and you'll see it in the numbers today, yes, the claims are going to tick up. a lot of folks applying for the claims and getting the money from the government may have been unemployed for weeks now. there's been this huge bottleneck we've heard reported on so much now. states have been just overwhelmed by the number of people, men and women applying for jobless benefits, yasmin. >> david, thank you, as always. please stay healthy. up next, axios' one big

thing. coming up on "morning joe," a big three hours ahead. a live interview with the apparent democratic presidential nominee, joe biden, and his wife, dr. jill biden. plus, conversation about leadership in times with crisis with two veterans. former presidential candidate pete buttigieg and also stanley mccrystal. also, lay dy gaga and her effor in the fight against the coronavirus. "morning joe" is moments away. . to help our communities when they come back together, respond to the 2020 census now. spend a few minutes online today to impact the next 10 years of healthcare, infrastructure and education. go to 2020census.gov and respond today to make america's tomorrow brighter. it's time to shape our future.

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k-pop. ♪ yodelin'. ♪ and hip-hop. ♪ my body's made of glitter and i'll throw it in your face ♪ well, we're doomed. the world premiere is now in your home. a smooth jazz troll? i don't care for smooth jazz. welcome back, everybody. joining me now with a look at axios am, editor in chief for axios, nick johnston. good morning to you. talk about axios' one big thing today. >> good morning. today's one big thing is the coronavirus chain reaction. the national pandemic lockdown have led to, who would think these things would be happening as society reacts to the pandemic. the return of the phone call. we've seen things anecdotally. the rise of jigsaw puzzles.

telemedicine and things like that. it's really turned the united states into this giant sort of lab for both scientistic and sociological experiment. it is fascinating to see how these play out in the near term and the long term. looking at these underlying trends to see if they really be will impact the united states going forward. this may be more short-term, but it's the environmental impact. with nobody flying, with nobody driving, we're seeing in real time scientistic experiment s o the spread of pollution. we've seen reports in national parks that wildlife is going. one report had the number of bears in yosemite quadrupling. mayors are pushing back against plastic bag bans, saying it'd be a way to protect against the pandemic. the cloth bags that people switch to become a coronavirus car carrier. on the business side, as we see, annual meetings move online. it made it more difficult for social activists to sort of challenge companies on a lot of the issues.

just changing around environmental and social government things that companies have been fighting for. also, the rise in teltelemedici. a lot has moved online. we'll see how many of the short-term trends play out into the new normal once the pandemic ends and we're back open for business. >> physicians said they've been doing a lot of telemedicine recently because there is a high need for it at this point. folks just don't want to go to doctor's offices and hospitals right now. let's talk about the announcement that's going to be coming from the president later today. like ly telling governors if thy want to open up their economies, go ahead and do so on their own. obviously, that is going to spark a lot of debate nationwide from coast to coast. how is this going to be controversial throughout the country? how do you see it playing out? >> this is a big thing we're looking at, what happens next.

president trump is going to probably change his tune from earlier in the week, when he said he'd direct governors and would be in charge of how the opening happens. we expect him to tell governors today he'll defer to their judgment. that can be problematic. could make it a political decision, as red state governors rush forward with opening, and while other blue state governors, areas more affected with the coronavirus, hold back. it plays on what we have seen with some of these protests happening. there is a big one in michigan yesterday, where president trump supporters were agitating for a reopening of the government. the president pushing it to the governor could make it a political decision, where his supporters view this as a campaign issue. reopening the economy, being able to boost part of the election. that makes it a tension between societies saying, "push forward much more slowly," based on the health experts, and others pushing for faster. look for it to play against blue and red state gov no, sernors.

>> a pro-trump super pac portraying joe biden soft on china. interesting. what more can you tell us on this? >> this is a big news story we'll see play in the campaign. the trump campaign fighting back against china on the w.h.o. is tying biden to china. saying he wasn't strong on pushing back on china, and also disputing the chinese numbers on the coronavirus. it'll be a huge campaign issue, specifically, the coronavirus. >> nicholas johnston, thank you. we'll be reading axios a.m. in a little while. signup.axi signup.axios.com. that does it for me on this thursday morning. "morning joe" starts right now. very, very soon, the can is going to run out of road. we've got to open this economy. if we don't, it's going to collapse. and if the u.s. economy collapses, the world collapses.

trying to burn down the village to save it is foolish. yes, we shut down. but the shutdown did not stop the spread of the virus. the shutdown slowed the spread of the virus at enormous cost, but it still spread. when we end the shutdown, the virus is going to spread faster. that's just a fact. the american people understand that. >> republican senator john kennedy of hard-hit louisiana, that states should reopen, despite acknowledging that would accelerate the spread of this deadly virus. >> well, it's just one of the dumbest things i've actually hear him say. he's said so many stupid things over the past year, it's hard to count. he's from a state that, again, everybody went to mardi gras. when out to mardi gras and spread the coronavirus across the country. it's just like florida having spring break. you can actually